Cow Body Parts Found At Woodstock Academy

Students at a college prep school found a cow's head on school property this morning.

WOODSTOCK— Students at Woodstock Academy made a gruesome discovery Wednesday morning, state police said: They found the body parts of a dead cow throughout campus.

The body parts included the severed calf's head, which the school said was found in a student parking lot across the street from the main campus at 57 Academy Road.

Troopers arrested a student, Avery Blair Rollins, 18, of Canterbury Road, in Brooklyn, Conn. after finding that he had a knife on him, said Sgt. Shane Hassett of the state police. Police believe he placed the pieces of the dead cow on campus, he said, although they don't know if he used the knife on the cow.

The school said the calf had been killed a few days ago in a traffic collision.

Rollins was charged with breach of peace and was released on a promise to appear in Superior Court in Danielson June 30.

Asked if the incident stemmed from a senior prank, Hassett said "That's the assumption at this point."

According to a statement provided by Susan Ahern Straub, executive assistant to Headmaster Christopher Sanford, another student also was arrested after a machete was found in the student's vehicle.

The machete was not related to the cow incident, the school and Hassett said; it was discovered during the investigation.

The school has a zero tolerance policy for animal cruelty and weapons, the statement said.